Studio Quality Product Photography With a $12 Set Up

Handmadeology’s resident product photography pro Mariano, has put together a $12 product photography set up that will help you achieve studio quality product photography .

Studio Quality Product Photography With a $12 Set Up

Anderson Soap Company is one of the most successful Etsy sellers with LOADS of sales! This photography demo uses his liquid soap as the photography example. Look at his Etsy shop to observe the consistency in picture styles that creates a cohesive photo theme of all his products. Learn from the best – browse his shop – and you might even find some soap you’ve gotta have!

I took this picture in my kitchen. It looks like a photograph I could have done in the studio, using complicated lighting equipment. I did not. Here is a step by step guide showing you how you can to do it.

Here’s what you’ll need for this product photography set up.

1. A cardboard box you can use to cut a piece from.

2. A roll of aluminum foil, it’s easier with a wider one.

3. A piece of tracing paper of at least 20” of width and 3 feet in length. You can also use any white, no color, translucent material that you have around your home.

4. One 6” spring clamp.

This is one of those times when bigger is indeed better.

Cut a flat panel from the box that is much bigger than the thing you want to photograph. Make it as big as you can but not so much that it becomes unhandy to move around.

1. Cut a piece of foil a bit larger than the cardboard. You can use several pieces of foil to cover the board if you need to.

2. The duller side of the aluminum foil will give a softer light than the shinny side – the shiny side will reflect much more light . I used the dull side for this picture.

3. Fold around the cardboard and tape it.

4. Congratulations! You just made a reflective card.

Now you will need to redecorate your home a bit, move a table as close to a window as you can.

Is your furniture high enough? Make sure that the top of the table is higher than the window sill.

Don’t let the neighbors watch. Tape the piece of tracing paper to the window. Use a single piece to avoid seeing seams and put the paper so it goes down the window well below the top of the table.

Put a long piece of aluminum foil on the table, I used the dull side up for this picture. Place your product close to the window.

Fold down the foil to have a clean edge.

Use the card so the light coming in from the window bounces back to reach the bottle.

Play with the angle of the card to find the position that puts the most light on your product.

Once you find an angle you like move the card as close as you can to the product – without showing it in the picture.

Now you are ready to take a picture!

Take many. Try taking a few too light pictures and some too dark too. Try different camera angles as well. You can choose later the one you like best.

Next week we’ll show you how to make this photograph of handmade soap.

I am an advertising photographer living in NYC. My pictures help large companies sell more and to keep their brands looking fresh. I am also the founder of Via U!, an online studio dedicated to assisting artists selling in Etsy increase their sales too.

Looking for more photography help?

Tim here.. I just wanted to let you know about an AMAZING online product photography class over on Craftsy. It is taught by Knitter and photographer Caro Sheridan. She explains it all – from planning before the shoot to editing afterwards, and all the details in between. Whether you’re looking to shoot product pics, or just want to learn more about photography, you will benefit from Caro’s upbeat, irreverent and detailed instruction. You can enroll today just click the banner below.

216 comments

Fantastic outcome, and love the affordable way you did it. This is worth a try! I thought indoors under a down light was good for my photos. Then I took some outside on an overcast day. That was soooo much better (which I didn’t expect). I couldn’t even see the item on my camera screen. I didn’t think it was going to work. That has made me want to try a few other things. This is a good one to put into action. Thanks!

I’d like to know if this technique would work with a darker background.

I use charcoal-colored, slightly textured paper for my backdrop but my apt is badly lit and so I always end up with noisy, dark photographs here. That makes me stuck shooting at work and I only get one hour to do it and only during the week.

I’ve tried diffused lamps but I don’t like the lighting as much as I like natural light. If this could help me get more light to my items, it would save me so much in terms of production time and I could actually post my items more often!

Thanks for the great info. What if you are photographing jewelry or sculptural items that are usually photographed flat ? How does one eliminate unwanted reflections on highly reflective silver jewelry?
Thanks again!

this is great. I’ll have to try. My only problem is that I live in Seattle, it’s winter, and it’s grey grey grey…. But I’m willing to try! I also take a lot of my blog pictures at night… any suggestions for that?

Gray would give you beautiful soft tones. Just make sure that there is a lot of gray coming in – try working in the hours of the day when there is more light.

I intent to post using natural light for a while because it so much simpler to use and it works well for most things. You may use most of the same techniques I show in these posts if you are using artificial lighting.

Amazing. Thanks for writing this easy to follow piece. We often hear from clients who want us to build them an e-commerce website but can’t afford professionally taken shots of their products. I’ll send them the link to this article and tell them to DIY! Thanks

Wow! This is great! Thanks so much for sharing!
Do you have any suggestions on how to photograph fabric to make it look as good as it can be? I design and sell original fabrics, and I have a vision in my head of how I want it to look, but struggle to actually execute my creative ideas.
I feel like something is missing:
Please tell me what you think that missing ingredient is: http://www.etsy.com/shop/NewMomDesigns

This is a wonderful tip. I was struggling all the time to take the perfect pictures….
it would be great if you gave us some tips on how to take pictures to jewelry as well…:-) many would appreciate it, right?

Like someone asked above, do you have any suggestions for photographing fabric?
I make bras and I’d love a way to photograph them (not on a body) that looks professional.
Here’s something I’ve tried but still doesn’t look as good as what you did for the bottle.

The lighting in your photos is quite good, it’s great to see you are using a lot of natural light!

Maybe if you stuffed your bras somehow (pinning something inside that fills them?) for the first photo, that would make it look much better. Use a plain coloured background without the texture that the blanket in your photo has and that should improve the picture as well. Also, try using Macro mode on your camera to get great detail.

Hi! Great article! But no one ever addresses photographing large items like mine….and floral items. I’ve compiled tips from lots of different sources. I have to always shoot outside, right after the sun goes down. I work full time so I’m always racing with the sun and the sun usually wins. These were taken around 4:00 this past Sunday, very cloudy day, a little sun, not much. I’m sure you’ll find lots wrong, but I never stop trying. Thanks. laurie

Personally, I think your photos are fantastic. I especially like the wreaths agains the grey wood background because it doesn’t distract. If you wanted to add a little more something to the pictures you already have, just use a photo editing program on your computer to lighten the photo & add a little contrast.

Very good demo! I was an art director for 25 years and back-lighting like this is very pretty and effective. Just a note, if you don’t like the foil under your piece you can substitute with a very large piece of bright white paper and if you put a piece of clear glass over that you will get a beautiful reflection

I think your pictures are already really good.
Would it be possible for you to take pictures of the set up you are using and post them so we can take a look at it?
In the near future I will post a step by step of clay pottery.
m.

I am going to try this, I have been using a light box I bought off Ebay, $30. But want more freedom. I am anxious to try this tomorrow, when it is daylight. Thank you for the wonderful description and pics.

Do you have any tips for photographing paper products. I have been photographing outside but that can be really inconsistant. just yesterday purchase a studio light. Any input would be greatly appreciated!http://www.etsy.com/shop/KaydenAshley

I normally take my pottery photos outside later in the afternoon for a nice shot. But I struggle in the winter here in Wisconsin-very few days I can get outside. It also id quite grey for days at a time. I really look forward to trying this ne w technique.

Wonderful!
I am glad that the post helped you Sharee.
Now you are ready to up the ante. Please keep in touch and let me know if the new pictures boosts sales or traffic. After all we we need to create pictures that help increase sales.
m.

This is great, I would love to know how I can photograp my items. I can only photograp on the weekends as I work full time. If the weather is bad, which often happens, then its indoors. I have use two spot lights. But I would love to hear how others manage with larger items.

Great idea! I love the idea of the aluminum foil but I too have a dark apartment, with very little natural light. Can you do this with a very bright light if you don’t have access to the natural light.

Yes you can. In the work I do for my clients I use artificial lights because they are more reliable and flexible. However, learning how to use them skillfully took me many years. Interesting pictures are not the result of the camera you are using but how light makes things look what is in front of us.

My articles are about how to control light using the simplest of methods. Without equipment, using materials readily available at home.

If there is any light coming through that window you can do it the way I show in the tutorial. With little light you may need to use a tripod to hold the camera and to make longer exposures. Make exposures of seconds if necessary, it will work just fine.

I AM GOBSMACKED ! Sorry for lowering the tone, but this was such an eye-opener
to me ! I’ve been struggling with so many aspects and additional skills I need for marketing and selling, but this must be the most practical and instant bit of advice – THANK YOU ! x

What do you recommend for rainy days? I live on the west coast and sunny days are too reliable around here. I’m also using two work lamps from Home Depot that emit a 6500K light for additional lighting. They are compact fluorescent at 300w equivalent. Any ideas?

Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful idea! I try to make my photos as dynamic as possible for my Etsy shop and this will definitely be a technique I will try!
Micki from A2Sea Creations and A2Sea Photography

Thanks for the detailed information on shooting in front of a window. I will try the foil too. I am wondering though, how to get silver jewelry photographed against a black background. I have been told by other etsy sellers that silver jewelry looks best against black but they are always out of focus. I understand that black background needs longer exposure but don’t know how to do that. I have used a tripod and self timer but it hasn’t helped at all.

What about doing this for the silver jewelry with the white/foil setup? Does it get too washed out?
I keep getting comments that my website or catalog might look more professional with the white background, but I feel like they always end up too washed out. Any tips? Thanks!

Wow, amazing. However, does this method work well with glass covered artwork? I have awful experience with reflection but couldn’t use the light box because of the size of my artwork. It would be wonderful if this method can help.

WOW, thanks so much for this article! I have been wondering how everyone on Etsy has such professional like studios in all their houses. I’m going to try this right away.
One question, the window in my kitchen faces west…do you recommend a time of day to try this for optimal lighting through the paper?? Thanks again!!

Does the amount of light I have in my window compared to yours will change something? I have less light but with the reflector it should be ok? Also is the foil a good idea for metal jewelry? Thank you!